Chapter 10
‘Maisie? Maisie, my love, whatever is wrong?’ Sarah asked, kneeling beside her friend and handing her a clean handkerchief from the desk drawer where their boss kept a ready stock for when her staff were upset. ‘I don’t think you should be working right now, do you?’ she murmured, as the girl sobbed her heart out.
Maisie tried to stop herself from trembling. ‘I’ll . . . I’ll be fine. It was just the sounds from next door.’ She gave Sarah a watery smile. ‘Mary’s sister has had her baby . . . I heard it cry,’ she whispered, unconsciously holding her stomach and rocking slowly in her chair.
‘We need to get you home to David,’ Sarah sympathized, although she had no idea how this was going to be possible. Betty had explained about the lack of information concerning the unexploded bomb and, although Sarah was fearful of it exploding, she was more concerned for her friend at that moment. ‘If only there wasn’t a fire raging up the end of the road we’d be able to get out of here and be home before the start of Christmas Eve and everyone will be able to enjoy Christmas Day.’
Maisie gave another sob as a look of shock crossed her face. ‘David . . . I was going to surprise him with the news on Christmas Day. I’ve wrapped up a pair of socks that I knitted and put “from your son or daughter” on the label I attached to the parcel. It’s under our tree in the front room. What if he sees it? Oh my God, I can’t do that to him . . .’ Maisie grabbed Sarah’s hand. ‘Please, we’ve got to do something before he sees it . . .’
‘Sees what?’ Freda asked, as she pushed open the office door and entered holding a tea tray, followed by a timid Jessie. ‘What have I missed?’ she continued, before seeing Maisie’s stricken face.
Sarah glanced at Freda and then the young girl with her, who was shifting from foot to foot not knowing what to do with herself. ‘Jessie, why don’t you take these empty cups out to the kitchen? That’s if you don’t mind?’ she added quickly. After all the kid wasn’t an employee, so she couldn’t really expect her to help out.
‘I can do that, Miss.’ The girl grinned back. ‘I like to keep busy and everyone’s been so nice to me, especially that Mrs Gilbert. I’ll wash up as well,’ she offered.
Sarah smiled. Jessie reminded her so much of Freda when they’d first joined Woolworths together. ‘Maureen – that is, Mrs Gilbert – is my mother-in-law. I agree, she is a very nice person.’
Jessie loaded the used cups and saucers onto the tray that Freda had just emptied and headed towards the door. ‘She’s invited me to stay over Christmas while I get myself sorted out,’ she said, as she left the room.
Even Maisie stopped crying and attempted a grin.
Sarah shrugged her shoulders. ‘I’m not sure where we are going to fit her in. Maureen only has a small house and there’s hardly room for me, Alan and Georgina there as it is.’
‘Oh well, it is Christmas after all. We can’t have a kid living in the storeroom over the holidays, can we?’ Freda added. ‘Now, tell me what’s been happening while I entertained the Woolies inspector. I must say, he’s a strange one. Every time I did my best to talk about the store and our work he changed the subject and chatted about local news. I don’t think he can be very good at his job.’
‘Oh come off it, Mike. There must be something we can do. Our wives are trapped up there and a bomb could go off at any minute. Goodness knows how scared they are right now. We must find a way of getting them out of there,’ David Carlisle exclaimed. He liked the police sergeant and appreciated that the man had a job to do, but when it involved stopping him getting to his wife, Maisie, he was fast losing his temper. ‘Look, there’s an army chap up there, can we not speak to him?’
Mike Jackson raised his hands to the two young men. He knew them both socially and Alan Gilbert was married to his mate George Caselton’s daughter, Sarah. ‘I’m sorry, lads. Like I said earlier, my hands are tied. This is army territory and I’m just here to make sure no one gets past the barrier in the dark. I know how you feel . . .’
‘I don’t think you do, Mike,’ David answered, before turning his back on the men and reaching into his pocket for his cigarettes.
‘I’ve been thinking,’ Alan said, rubbing his hands together. ‘There’s a telephone in Betty Billington’s office. We could make a call from a public phone box or even the police station,’ he suggested hopefully. ‘At least the girls would know we are trying to do something. A cheerful word and all that?’ he added hopefully.
‘I wish we could, Alan, but the telephone lines have been affected by the fire,’ Mike replied, as he nodded towards the flames that could still be seen in the night sky. ‘It’s going to be a while before we can use them again.’
‘Thanks, Mike, we do appreciate what you’re doing,’ Alan said, holding out his hand to the policeman.
‘That goes for me too,’ David added. ‘Do you mind if we stay just in case anything happens?’
Mike nodded. ‘We’re far enough away if the bomb should go off,’ he said, but he did wonder if the people in the Woolworths store would be as safe.
Freda climbed through the window in the staffroom and made her way up onto the roof of the Woolworths store. Like her mates, she felt helpless stuck inside not being able to do anything. She wouldn’t be missed for a while as Betty and Maureen were helping the guests out of the cellar and leading them back to the staffroom. She pulled her woollen mittens from the pocket of her winter coat and tugged the matching beret as far over her ears as possible. If only she’d thought to make a matching scarf, too, she’d have been much warmer. With the air raid over there was no need for the firewatchers to be on duty. Even so, Freda looked around to check there were no dangerous sparks from the blaze up the road. She stood for a while watching the firemen doing their duty. Now, that was a job she’d enjoy. She would feel she was really doing her bit then.
The fire in the building seemed to be under control but still flames could be seen rising from the remains of the roof and the top floor. She stood wondering what had been in the building and could recollect a bank and some offices used by a solicitor. She hoped that if anyone had been inside they’d managed to escape. Turning to face the end of Pier Road, she craned her neck to try to see the tobacconist’s shop. In the darkness she could make out little of the building, though she could hear voices in the road below. She recognized the cheery voice and whistling as those of the soldier she’d spoken to earlier in the evening. ‘Hello down there,’ she called out, pointing the beam of her torch towards the pavement.
‘Hello, darling,’ the jolly soldier called back up to her. ‘I see you couldn’t keep away from me. Come down here and I’ll treat you to a cup of Rosie Lee and a bacon sandwich.’
Freda felt her mouth water; it had been ages since the party and even then she’d been so busy she’d barely eaten a thing. Nothing could beat the smell of frying bacon. ‘No, ta,’ she called back. ‘I wanted to know how long it would be before you take that bomb away? Some of us want to get home to our beds.’
The corporal scratched his chin and thought for a moment. ‘Now, that’d be telling. Each bomb’s different. They’re like women, yer see: a bit inclined to take their time and more than a little temperamental.’
Freda scoffed at his words. ‘Like you’d know. Can’t you ask someone important?’
‘There’s no one more important than me, darling. I’m the chap that controls the cooking. An army marches on its stomach, don’t yer know? It’s the first thing we do when we set up at a site with an unexploded bomb, and I’m the man in charge of the frying pan. No one is more important,’ he repeated, puffing out his chest and giving her a mock salute.
Despite his infuriating answers, Freda laughed. She’d not like to do his job. ‘So what do you think; will this lady behave or will she keep us all waiting? I’ve got some old folk in here as well as a woman who has just had a baby, so it’s important we get them to their homes. Please help me.’
‘Well, that’s a different kettle of fish, so t
er speak; the lads have told me it’s a fifty-kilogram bomb.’
Freda had no idea what a kilogram was, let alone if that meant the bomb was large, small or gave a big bang when it went off. ‘Can you tell me what that means?’
‘To keep it simple for you, darling, it means that if it goes off you may not ’ave a job to go to tomorrow.’
Freda felt more than a little faint and gripped the brickwork she’d been holding onto a bit tighter. ‘Oh, I see. You mean it could destroy . . .’ She counted the shops between Woolies and the tobacconist’s. ‘You mean it could destroy seven shops?’
‘A few, darling, but you’d probably not have any glass left in the windows.’
Freda felt a sense of relief. ‘So we’d not be killed, then? Just a little shook up?’
‘It still depends,’ the corporal said, shrugging his shoulders. ‘It’s in the lap of the gods, so ter speak.’
‘Perhaps we could get past the shop if we all hurried?’ she suggested, wondering, at the same time, if the elderly guests were able to hurry.
‘Madam, no one is leaving the building so please get yourself inside at once. Corporal, get back to your duties,’ an authoritative voice barked from the darkness.
Freda sighed and turned off her torch. There must be some way she could get help for the people inside the store. She sat down on an upturned box that served as a table for those on firewatching duty and thought hard.
‘Phew, I’m fair whacked out!’ Ruby said, as she leant against the counter where Maureen was starting to lay out cups and saucers as their guests settled back into the seats to rest after leaving the cramped cellar, walking through the closed store and up the steep staircase to the staff canteen.
‘Sit down and rest your feet,’ Maureen said sympathetically. ‘Young Jessie can give me a hand for a while.’
‘You’ve taken to that kid, haven’t you?’ Ruby said, as she took a seat close to the counter. ‘Does she come from round here? I can’t say I’ve seen her about the town.’
Maureen poured boiling water into two teapots and placed bright knitted cosies over the tops to keep the tea warm while it brewed. ‘She’s not from far away,’ she explained, before telling Ruby all about the young girl’s plight. ‘So, I said she can come home with me for Christmas while we sort out what she can do.’
‘That’s good of you, Maureen, but where the hell are you going to put her? There’s hardly room to swing a cat in your place as it is.’
‘She can kip on the sofa. There’s plenty of room as there’s hardly anything of her. I might need to borrow some bedding from you, if you don’t mind?’
‘It’s yours for the asking.’ Ruby smiled. Maureen was such a generous soul. Ruby did think that at one time her son George would have married the woman, as the two families were neighbours way back when, but then George took up with Irene and moved away while Maureen stayed put in Erith and made a good marriage. At least the families were joined together when Alan married Sarah the day war broke out.
‘Thank you. I’ll send our Alan round if we need anything. Mind you, we could be spending the whole night here if they don’t shift that bloody bomb before too long. Our guests are beginning to flag.’
Ruby laughed. ‘I don’t know; that woman over there seems to be enjoying herself still. It must be all the booze she’s been putting away. I’ve never seen a woman shift so much and still be able to dance like that.’
The pair watched the woman kicking her legs high and joining in with a few people who were still game to enjoy themselves, as Betty played ‘Knees Up Mother Brown’ on the piano.
‘Who is she? I don’t recall her working here.’ Maureen frowned. ‘Mind you, so many of our retired staff have brought family with them. She could belong to anyone.’
‘Why don’t you go and give us a song or two, Maureen? I’d love to hear a few Christmas carols. I’m not much of one for hymns and church, but I do like a carol. The one time of year I do go to church is Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve. We could still be here and I reckon I’ll be missing it this year.’
Maureen put down her tea towel and called to Jessie. ‘Can you hand out the tea while I go and sing a few songs? I’m in the mood for “In the Bleak Midwinter”.’ She winked at Ruby.
Ruby helped the girl sort out tea for everyone before tipping hot water from a kettle into the sink to start the washing up. ‘I’ve not seen our Freda for a while. Her tea’s going to get cold if she’s not sharp.’
‘I saw her going up to the roof earlier. Shall I fetch her?’ Jessie asked politely.
‘That’s a good idea. You’re a good kid, Jessie. What are your plans for the future?’
The girl shrugged her shoulders. ‘My mum had a cousin down on the coast she used to write to. I’ve got her letters with my things. I thought I’d make my way down to Ramsgate and see if she’d put me up. I can pay me board as I’m fourteen now and old enough to work.’
‘You hadn’t got far if you was hiding away in our storeroom,’ Ruby admonished her, even though her heart was going out to the young girl.
‘It was cold and I needed to hide up in case . . . in case that man had followed me. I left in a bit of a hurry and forgot me coat,’ Jessie said sadly.
Ruby gave her a quick hug. ‘Now don’t you go worrying about any of that. We can sort you out a few bits and pieces and see you all right for some grub. It’s Christmas and goodwill to all men – and young girls too,’ she added with a smile. No kid would go without while Ruby Caselton has breath in her body, she thought to herself, as she tried to swallow a large lump in her throat.
‘Ta ever so,’ the girl said, giving Ruby a kiss and cuffing a few tears from her eyes. ‘I’ll go and find Freda.’
‘Who’s there?’ Freda called out, as she noticed a shadow on the corner of the roof.
‘It’s me, Jessie. Ruby thought you’d like to come down for a cup of tea and a bite to eat? Blimey, it’s cold up here.’
‘I’ll be down shortly. I’ve been trying to think of a way to get out of here. I’d hoped the army would let us get past the shop with the bomb in it if we hurried. But it doesn’t seem that they will.’
Jessie crept closer to Freda and picked up her torch. ‘We can always look and see.’ She grinned as she leant over the balustrade bordering the roof and shone the torch down the street.
‘Put that light out!’ someone bellowed, and she quickly switched off the torch and ducked down next to Freda.
When the pair had stopped giggling, Freda’s voice took on a serious note. ‘No wonder you’re cold. You’re not wearing a coat. Here, take my gloves and hat,’ she said, pulling off the warm garments and passing them to the girl, who took them gratefully. ‘I’ve got an old coat you can have. It’s downstairs in the staffroom. I left it here once when we changed to go out to the pictures and forgot to take it home. It’s a bit threadbare around the cuffs and may be rather big for you, but you’re more than welcome to it.’
‘Thank you. Everyone’s been so nice to me. I don’t know how to repay you all.’
‘You can sit with me and keep me company for a bit; that’s if you don’t freeze to death. I just wish I could think of a way to get us away from here. With a bomb down there and a fire up the other end of the road we are well and truly stuck.’
‘It’s a shame there isn’t a back door to Woolworths,’ Jessie said, as she snuggled next to Freda.
‘Why didn’t I think of that?’ Freda exclaimed.
Chapter 11
David checked his pack of cigarettes. It was empty. He swore and threw the packet into the road.
‘Here,’ Alan said, holding out his own. ‘How much longer are they going to be?’ He knew, as the words left his mouth, that they could be in for a long wait. ‘It’s the not knowing what’s going to happen that makes me feel so bloody helpless.’
David slapped him on the back. ‘Look, here comes Mike. Perhaps he has some news.’
They watched as the police sergeant approached the wooden barri
er that was now in place across the bottom of Pier Road. ‘Not much to tell,’ he said, as he got closer and saw the hopeful faces of the two men. ‘Everything is prepared. There are sandbags stacked against every opening. I don’t think it will be too long before the officer goes in to examine and hopefully defuse the bomb.’
‘What are we talking about? An hour? Two, three?’ Alan asked impatiently.
‘It could take the rest of the night. I doubt they’ll let the girls out of Woolworths until the defused bomb is taken away to the marshes. They won’t want to risk anything. Look, why don’t the pair of you go home? I can get a message to you once we know it’s safe.’
‘I’m staying here if it’s all the same to you,’ Alan said defiantly. ‘My family are in there and if anything happened to them . . .’ His voice started to fade and he stared into the darkness, trying to compose himself.
Mike nodded and reached into his pocket, pulling out a half-bottle of scotch. ‘I’m not one for drinking on duty but I’ve taken to carrying this as it can help calm the nerves if anyone is in shock. It helps keep out the chill too,’ he said, offering it to the two men, who accepted with alacrity.
‘Why didn’t I remember there’s a back door to the building?’ Freda groaned in annoyance.
‘Does that mean we can get out of here?’ Jessie asked, jumping to her feet. ‘Come on, let’s go tell everyone.’
‘Hang on a minute,’ Freda said, grabbing the girl’s arm before she headed off to inform everyone in the staffroom that they could soon be heading home. ‘The door doesn’t go anywhere. That’s probably why Betty and the other staff haven’t given it a thought.’
‘What do you mean it doesn’t go anywhere?’ Jessie laughed out loud. ‘Why, all doors lead somewhere.’
‘It’s just a small yard surrounded on three sides by buildings,’ Freda explained.
‘What about the fourth side?’ Jessie asked.
‘There’s a high wall with barbed wire on top. It’s to stop anyone thinking of breaking into Woolworths.’
Carols at Woolworths Page 8